# Not over-joyed with pipesandcigars.com



## Rolando (Jul 17, 2008)

My last order was missing a tin which I could have reported but didn't because I got busy and by the time I thought of it again it was probably too late to be convincing.

However my biggest gripe is their inventory does not appear to be tied properly to their website. Most of the orders I place are delayed for stock reasons but I don't know at the time of the order, when I check the order on their website there is no notification, and they never contact me via email. It is frustrating being left in the dark as far as when an order will ship.

Not the end of the world but annoying.


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## squeeze left (Jun 28, 2006)

So, you are posting this without ever having contacted the retailer to see if they will make it right? Just checking.


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## bige610 (Jul 1, 2008)

i had a friend who ran into a similar problem. I would call them. He got the rest of his order.


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## Rolando (Jul 17, 2008)

squeeze left said:


> So, you are posting this without ever having contacted the retailer to see if they will make it right? Just checking.


I don't care about the missing tin, well I do, but IMO that ship has sailed. What I care about is that I have place yet another order and I have no idea when it will ship. The one before last was delayed 8 days waiting for inventory without a peep from them. I finally called after I thought it should have arrived to find out it was just then shipping. That is not exactly great customer service.


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## dillonmcmurphy (Aug 5, 2008)

That's dissappointing. I was stoked that they had such a great inventory of tobaccos but now that you mention that I may have to take my business elsewhere.....


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## bige610 (Jul 1, 2008)

ive never had a problem with them. not sure what happend for you. i hope they make it right


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## squeeze left (Jun 28, 2006)

I ask because I had excellent service when I've ordered from them. I was looking for a particular pipe tobacco (Sam Gawith Dark Plug) and they are, as far as I can tell, the only US retailer for it. They were out of stock but I emailed and asked them to let me know when they got more. Two months later, I got the email and the order was no problem. 

So for me online inventory was accurate and shipping okay. Sorry to hear of your trouble; if non-real-time inventory bothers you don't buy from Atlantic cigar either.


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## tzilt (Nov 20, 2007)

Ive never ordered from pipesandcigars. I will say that I have nothing but pleasant experiences with both smokingpipes.com and 4noggins.


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## imthegoal (Jul 29, 2006)

I just received my order from them yesterday. I had placed my order on Sunday which contained a Bjarne pipe and 8 tins and 8 ounce of trout stream. All of it arrived here yesterday with an extra czech tool. Definately no complaints here. Sorry it hasnt worked out for you.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Their website does say to call for availability. Its a pain in the ass but it's obviously the price to pay for their broad selection.


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## Senator (Feb 8, 2008)

I've only ordered through them once...but I had a very good experience with them. My only issue is with the shipping costs to Canada. $32 is a little high to ship $20 of tobacco. I've found smokingpipes to be my favourite tobacco retailer so far...and I'm enjoying dealing with Frenchy on pipes.

The only retailer I've actually had a bad experience with is 4noggins. I found Rich to be very unresponsive to shipping queries and I won't deal with him again. I knwo this is contrary to other's experience, though.


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## TOB9595 (Apr 24, 2007)

Seems like, overall, the experiences are grand.
Stuff happens and if you don't give them an opportunity to make it right...or at least call them and explain what happened to you so they can make it not happen to some else....

Let us know what they say after you tell them you have a problem..


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## Vrbas (Sep 17, 2008)

The only problem i had with them was some "miscalculations" as far as my bulk tobacco went. Ordered about 5 blends from them (only like 1oz each) and one baggie CLEARLY did not weigh up to 1oz. The others were off a little as well (under), but oh well. I don't smoke enough for it to be that big of an issue and luckily i didn't particularly like the blend i got jipped on all that much, but still it gets under my skin.

I'd recommend CupoJoes.com They got the stuff, they'll ship it fast, and they seem to have higher quality of ziplock bags (funny i'm rating the quality of a zippy, but it's true).


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## jazzkat88 (Sep 10, 2008)

I've ordered from them three times, had excellent service all around. As others have suggested, see if they can fix things. I bet they do.


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## Mikepd (May 26, 2008)

On Monday morning call 1-800-494-9144 and ask for Deb or Bob. Have your order number ready for the missing tin and if something says check for availability, always call ahead or order over the phone for that item. They will have no problem replacing something that was missed on an order.


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## Hermit (Aug 5, 2008)

Vrbas said:


> The only problem i had with them was some "miscalculations" as far as my bulk tobacco went. Ordered about 5 blends from them (only like 1oz each) and one baggie CLEARLY did not weigh up to 1oz. The others were off a little as well (under), but oh well. I don't smoke enough for it to be that big of an issue and luckily i didn't particularly like the blend i got jipped on all that much, but still it gets under my skin.
> 
> I'd recommend CupoJoes.com They got the stuff, they'll ship it fast, and they seem to have higher quality of ziplock bags (funny i'm rating the quality of a zippy, but it's true).


I've had some "miscalculations" from them, too.
I usually get *more* than I order.
They're not perfect, but P&C is my number one vendor.


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## bige610 (Jul 1, 2008)

same here. i asked for a sample of two blends they sent me a few ounces of each. and it always seems they err on the heavy side. 1 oz of tobacco isnt very much


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## Rolando (Jul 17, 2008)

Most of you are clearly missing the point. IT IS NOT ABOUT THE MISSING TIN. I was too busy to notice and over a week has gone by. I am SURE they would have replaced it had I called in timely manner. My MAIN source of irritation has absolutely NOTHING to do with the tin.

And no not every item has to be called in to check for availability. From their website:



The problem clearly is that their website is not updated often enough to have the correct inventory levels and when you place an order for something that is out of stock you are left in the dark as to when an order will ship. Yes I could call them and get estimated shipping dates and all that but I should not have to since they have my email address.


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## atlacatl (Sep 18, 2006)

I buy from them alot and never had a problem. I'm sure they'll take care of the missing tin.


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## Vrbas (Sep 17, 2008)

bige610 said:


> same here. i asked for a sample of two blends they sent me a few ounces of each. and it always seems they err on the heavy side. 1 oz of tobacco isnt very much


Suckers are getting the better side of "miscalculations".

About the topic creator's issue: Perhaps since they are such a large and popular retailer, they have a lot on their hands and updating their website slips through sometimes. Even then, if you're as popular and renown as they are, I'd think better of them.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Maybe its safe to say that online tobacco vendors are like mechanics and we all have our own opinions of who provides quality service and who has shoddy service.


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## wharfrathoss (Dec 27, 2006)

the whole "out of stock but still listed" issue has been going on for awhile, they even placed a short lived discount code here awhile ago to make up for it-when i placed my order w/them a couple months back, i knew to expect delays-i just checked the tracking on the order, & when i hadn't shipped i emailed Deb-she let me know why it hadn't & when it would-i'm not saying it's the way i would run an online buisness, but it's their website & their choice-it's also our choice whether to do buisness w/them or not-so be it


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## BlackDog (May 19, 2006)

This is not the first time this issue has been brought up regarding pipesandcigars.com Howeve, Scotty seems like a guy who is trying to serve his customers well. Personally I do wish he would put in a real-time inventory system on his website. Other e-tailers do, so obviously it can be done. I also wish he would not hold orders when you order something he doesn't have in stock. I think he should ship the partial order, then ship the backordered item when he gets it in stock. Or, put in a real time inventory system.

When the issue of service from his business came up on another forum, he posted these replies, which I think speak well of his intentions:



> I tried to post this earlier. Unfortunately, I did not save it so I have to type it again.
> 
> First of all I would like to apologize to Tex and anyone who did not recieve the service they expected. We really care about our customers and strongly believe in providing a quality product at a fair price.
> 
> ...





> Thanks.
> 
> I do care. My first email though was more apologetic. I did not mean to brag about our business, I meant to share with you that we have a lot going on and that we owe a lot to this industry for being so good to us.
> 
> ...


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## dartplayer1 (Aug 18, 2008)

If your not happy with the service why would you place another order?


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## SeanGAR (Jul 9, 2004)

Communication and online live inventory separate the top retailers from the rest. I shop at retailers who can tell me immediately if something is in stock, who immediately email me the order information, who ship fast and email me the tracking information. The rest can live without my business.


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## drastic_quench (Sep 12, 2008)

SeanGAR said:


> Communication and online live inventory separate the top retailers from the rest. I shop at retailers who can tell me immediately if something is in stock, who immediately email me the order information, who ship fast and email me the tracking information. The rest can live without my business.


That's a sound strategy.


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## Doc Holiday (Jul 14, 2008)

I had an order where I had ordered 8 oz tins but I received 2 oz tins. Several calls to staff seemed to fall on deaf ears. After a couple months it appeared I may not get things straightend out.

One email to Scotty caused a flurry of emails I was copied on, and tobacco to be in the mail within hours.

My suggestion would be to contact Scotty if you feel you have an issue. He will take care of you.


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## squeeze left (Jun 28, 2006)

SeanGAR said:


> Communication and online live inventory separate the top retailers from the rest. I shop at retailers who can tell me immediately if something is in stock, who immediately email me the order information, who ship fast and email me the tracking information. The rest can live without my business.


I agree that real-time inventory is a plus, but it's not the only one for me. Selection, price, and careful packing are my top priorities. I'm never in a hurry and always choose the cheapest shipping. That said, if I haven't heard from a retailer within 3 or 4 days I do email them just to check that my order was recieved. After a couple of weeks I might check the tracking number.

It's like MadHatter said - we all have different criteria. Certain retailers have poorly organized and confusing websites, and their childish advertisements. I will never order from them because I would never trust them with my credit card number. But I also won't trash them (by name) - they'll do fine without my business.


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## Rolando (Jul 17, 2008)

dartplayer1 said:


> If your not happy with the service why would you place another order?


There are multiple levels of annoyance in life. I have not reached the phase of "will never order from the again" just the phase where they may not be my first choice in the future.

I did receive an email from them after this thread letting me know an item was out of stock. I am not sure how I feel about that since it was prompted but again I never blacklisted them as a vendor. They do have a good selection and the prices seem reasonable but since I seldom price shop I don't know how they compare with others.


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## bige610 (Jul 1, 2008)

ive found with that site it is best to call them when you want to place your order. or what i do is place my order, and then call at my earliest convienence. I had a problem were my order never shipped. turned out they were waiting for an item to come in. after that i call everytime. they are very helpful. on another note if you call and ask for a sample or two with your order they really hook it up. i got a few ounces of the stuff i asked for. if you cant call you can email. deb usually responds within an hour or two.


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## Pythium (Sep 25, 2008)

I have to agree that they must have something a miss.

I ordered a pipe, a few tins, and a pipe tool. The package came missing the pipe tool. I emailed them, and they emailed me back. Since then, I have found that the pipe they sent me was wrong. I emailed Debbie 2 times, and I haven't heard anything back. I am not sure what's going to happen...

The pipe tool was no big deal, but to get the wrong pipe is a pisser. I am somewhat peeved.


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## Wiz4rd (Jun 2, 2008)

After 2 bad buys from them myself, I am now giving smokingpipes a try. They just can't seem to get their shit together.


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## Rolando (Jul 17, 2008)

Two weeks later... still no order. Just sent an email.


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## Doc Holiday (Jul 14, 2008)

Like I said in an earlier post in this thread, I think emailing Scottie is about your only answer. History says the staff is more than willing to just blow you off when you call or they get an email.

I didnt post the other post in defense of pipesandcigars, more to let you know the only way I've been able to resolve things there.

I do have to admit I have avoided the place since my last go around with them. Just doesnt seem like the customer should have to jump through the hoops like that to get what they have bought.


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## Rolando (Jul 17, 2008)

Well it is resolved enough now I guess. Still not over-joyed but at least most of what I wanted is on the way.

I guess in the future if they have what I want and I can't get it elsewhere I will just call it in.

If they ever get a real-time inventory system they need to let us know.


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## Wiz4rd (Jun 2, 2008)

I decided last night to use smokingpipes.com instead, and whadda know, my whole order shipped this morning via UPS.


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## Jayrat (Jun 3, 2009)

Senator said:


> I've only ordered through them once...but I had a very good experience with them. My only issue is with the shipping costs to Canada. $32 is a little high to ship $20 of tobacco. I've found smokingpipes to be my favourite tobacco retailer so far...and I'm enjoying dealing with Frenchy on pipes.
> 
> The only retailer I've actually had a bad experience with is 4noggins. I found Rich to be very unresponsive to shipping queries and I won't deal with him again. I knwo this is contrary to other's experience, though.


hey man im from canada too thinking of getting a few tins from pipesandcigars... so u actually had no problems??? how they heck do they ship tobacco from usa to canada its illegal without being taxed isnt it.. wont it just get held by customs???


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## RHNewfie (Mar 21, 2007)

Just a heads up, asking how is a bit of bad form. Welcome to the board!


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## plexiprs (Nov 18, 2005)

RHNewfie said:


> Just a heads up, asking how is a bit of bad form. Welcome to the board!


The clueless, well, have no clue. Ignore him, he'll go back to the online role-player game sites ....


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## Zeabed (Apr 23, 2009)

Yay! Rat!


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## Jayrat (Jun 3, 2009)

plexiprs said:


> The clueless, well, have no clue. Ignore him, he'll go back to the online role-player game sites ....


sorry new to tobacco boards ...

honestly though ive been lookin for a site than can safely send me some chewing tobacco without canadian customs confiscating it, id be very pleased with that.


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## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Jayrat said:


> sorry new to tobacco boards ...
> 
> honestly though ive been lookin for a site than can safely send me some chewing tobacco without canadian customs confiscating it, id be very pleased with that.


We have several members who share your situation. Your best bet until you can PM those fellow members after your first 30 days is to contact web dealers and find out their stance on shipping rates.


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## plexiprs (Nov 18, 2005)

Jayrat said:


> sorry new to tobacco boards ...
> 
> honestly though ive been lookin for a site than can safely send me some chewing tobacco without canadian customs confiscating it, id be very pleased with that.


I completely understand, but realize that ANYTHING being shipped transnational gets the attention of customs. The retailer is not going to risk a lawsuit, sanction, or arrest by withholding required information on a declaration, or other shipping documents.

Mad Hatter is wise. Grow and learn your brothers of the leaf, and then perhaps you might do a personal exchange that would be much less likely to garner the scrutiny of your jack-booted anti-tobacco customs polizia!

Sorry .............. got carried away ............ :wink:


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## Joshcertain (Jun 1, 2009)

Ive had really good services from pipesandcigars.com although I've yet to be bowled over by any of the baccy's ive bought from them, they ship fast and they are very courtious... cour-tee-us-- umm i cant spell...


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## plexiprs (Nov 18, 2005)

Joshcertain said:


> Ive had really good services from pipesandcigars.com although I've yet to be bowled over by any of the baccy's ive bought from them, they ship fast and they are very courtious... cour-tee-us-- umm i cant spell...


For you, good sir! SpellCheck.net - Free Online Spell Checker


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## brianwalden (Mar 18, 2009)

plexiprs said:


> For you, good sir! SpellCheck.net - Free Online Spell Checker


The Firefox web browser has a built in spell checker - I still manage to misspell plenty of words despite it.


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## jfserama (Mar 26, 2009)

brianwalden said:


> The Firefox web browser has a built in spell checker - I still manage to misspell plenty of words despite it.


Yes, what a life saver that is. Although the words I misspell are often so mangled that its suggestions are useless. :wink:


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## viking12344 (Apr 25, 2009)

Vrbas said:


> The only problem i had with them was some "miscalculations" as far as my bulk tobacco went. Ordered about 5 blends from them (only like 1oz each) and one baggie CLEARLY did not weigh up to 1oz. The others were off a little as well (under), but oh well. I don't smoke enough for it to be that big of an issue and luckily i didn't particularly like the blend i got jipped on all that much, but still it gets under my skin.
> 
> I'd recommend CupoJoes.com They got the stuff, they'll ship it fast, and they seem to have higher quality of ziplock bags (funny i'm rating the quality of a zippy, but it's true).


I think the problem with [email protected] is they have so much stock, given a call usually will get everything resolved. That being said I stopped by cupojoes today and bought my first peterson. I love that store and their HUGE inventory of pipes. Great folks also.


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## Alpedhuez55 (Dec 16, 2005)

I had a problem the first time I used them as well. I put in a large order, but two of the tins I ordered were not in stock. I was expecting my order the next day since they were close enough for that with UPS. After a couple of days I called. They held the whole order because of the backordered tins. 

They made up for it though. I substituted a couple of other tins and they threw in about 10 oz of samples of their blends, which were very good!!! But tthjey really need to be proactive in that situation and contact the customer or say it is not available on the website.


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## SmokinJohnny (Jan 21, 2009)

I just played ginny piggy and placed an order with P&C for some bulk pipe baccy and RYO cig baccy. We'll see how it goes. LOL.


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## SmokinJohnny (Jan 21, 2009)

Got email. SHIPPED!!!

:tea:


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## uvacom (Oct 29, 2008)

I just received my first order with them. They were great. They processed my order within a couple days (which is apparently the fastest that can reasonably be expected from pipe tobacco e-tailers, but I digress), they only had 4 of one blend I ordered instead of 6 but they just charged and shipped the 4 they had, and they threw in a sample of luisiana red which I did not request. I'll definitely buy from them again. I just hope the shortages on all of the tobaccos I actually want will come to an end.


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## SmokinJohnny (Jan 21, 2009)

4 out of 6 ain't so bad. It was nice they threw in a free sampling.


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## afilter (Oct 9, 2008)

Hmmm...I have not had these issues. I have now placed 4 orders with them, the first 3 while I was overseas. The last was recently when I came home I decided to break down and but myself a corona old boy lighter (awesome lighter BTW). The lighter was intially out of stock and on order which they informed me of via e-mail. The order still shipped within 5 days.

All the orders I placed while overseas where there within 10days and e-mail communication was great!

I did see a note on the web when I placed this last order that stated something to the fact.... that due to the new tax increases they had been having difficulty in getting orders out because of a high volume of orders, but were working to resolve the issue with extra staffing and hours.

Overall very positive experiences for me all around.


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## AcworthAl (Mar 16, 2009)

I have ordered from the following online sellers more than any others
Pipes and Cigars - great service - great tobacco
Iwan Ries - great
Frenchys- Wonderful


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## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

My experiences with Pipes and Cigars have been excellent. They did screw up one tin in one order - I ordered A and they sent B. But they allowed me to keep A and then sent B under separate cover. In other words, they aren't perfect but I also judge how well and quickly a seller corrects their mistakes. They also send me a full pound of MacBaren Plumcake instead of the 3.5 oz tin I ordered because they were out of tins. Ok, it turned out not to be the greatest of favors because I discovered I'm no fan of Plumcake but it was a nice gesture.


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## Hermit (Aug 5, 2008)

dmkerr said:


> My experiences with Pipes and Cigars have been excellent. They did screw up one tin in one order - I ordered A and they sent B. But they allowed me to keep A and then sent B under separate cover. In other words, they aren't perfect but I also judge how well and quickly a seller corrects their mistakes. They also send me a full pound of MacBaren Plumcake instead of the 3.5 oz tin I ordered because they were out of tins. Ok, it turned out not to be the greatest of favors because I discovered I'm no fan of Plumcake but it was a nice gesture.


Everybody makes mistakes.
If P&C makes one, they fix it quick.
I'm very happy with them.


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## SmokinJohnny (Jan 21, 2009)

P&C and 4 Noggins have both been prompt. Only delayed order was during the tax hike rush and that was to be expected.


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## Gigmaster (Jan 12, 2009)

I tried to place an order with pipesandcigars.com. I placed the order on Monday. I ordered the 4 new Missouri Meershaum tobaccos so I could write reviews on them. I got an email this morning that said they were unable to ship my order because they could not verify my age with the information I provided (Date of Birth, Address, Credit Card information, and Pay Pal information....what else is there??????). I buy tobacco from EA Careys, Thompson's Cigars, 4noggins, and smokingpipes.com, all the time, and I've never had a problem before. I'm over 55 years old. It is a little upsetting. I emailed them back and told them if they couldn't get their act together, then to just cancel the order. I buy a lot of tobacco from a lot of places. P & C will not be one of them.


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Gigmaster said:


> I tried to place an order with pipesandcigars.com. I placed the order on Monday. I ordered the 4 new Missouri Meershaum tobaccos so I could write reviews on them. I got an email this morning that said they were unable to ship my order because they could not verify my age with the information I provided (Date of Birth, Address, Credit Card information, and Pay Pal information....what else is there??????). I buy tobacco from EA Careys, Thompson's Cigars, 4noggins, and smokingpipes.com, all the time, and I've never had a problem before. I'm over 55 years old. It is a little upsetting. I emailed them back and told them if they couldn't get their act together, then to just cancel the order. I buy a lot of tobacco from a lot of places. P & C will not be one of them.


Bizarre. Online tobacco sites usually ask that question up front, if they ask at all, and take your word for it. :ask:

There seems to be a real run on thread mining! Another one from 2008, back when P&C was in Albany! :lol:


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## Gigmaster (Jan 12, 2009)

Wow! I didn't realize the thread was that old. It just proves that good threads won't die. They just don't post as often......:smoke2:



freestoke said:


> Bizarre. Online tobacco sites usually ask that question up front, if they ask at all, and take your word for it. :ask:
> 
> There seems to be a real run on thread mining! Another one from 2008, back when P&C was in Albany! :lol:


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## Commander Quan (May 6, 2003)

Call Customer Service 

Something happened during the takeover last year. 
I had an account and ordered regularly before the sell, my first order after the sell didn't ship, and I was given no notification of this, or as to why until I called them to find out just when I should be expecting my order. I was told the same thing. For some reason they were unable to verify my age, but it was taken care of over the phone in 5 seconds.


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## madbricky (Mar 29, 2013)

They use an age verification service related to some common data or something like that related to your credit card. It's no big deal and they will have the best prices and service I have been using since they almost started out. An undeserved slam on a good vendor with a necro-mined thread.


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## beercritic (Feb 13, 2011)

I've placed a few orders with them, usually on the phone, easier than navigating their web site. A few things had been delayed with backordering, but arrived quickly enough. Some tobacco snuffers were missing from one shipment, a bottle of pipe freshener leaked. Both problems were fixed PDQ via email. Count me among the satisfied.


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## bigLuke5595 (May 22, 2014)

I use a toss up between P&C and Smokingpipes. Both are great and I have never had any problems. I figured I would say hello on an ancient thread, try to make my presence known on the dark side of puff


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## Trackmyer (Jun 6, 2014)

Heh there fellas. Pipes and Cigars was in Albany NY when it belonged to Scotty.

This is the B&M that I use and can tell you that Scotty is a class act, and the best B&M owner Ive dealt with over the years over many states.

There was mention earlier in the thread about a merger, basically,some time back Cigars International wanted to get into the pipe tobacco online side, but didnt want to start from scratch so they offered Scotty a deal to buy his online side (pipesandcigars.com). Along with the move was Scotty's pipe tobacco blender Russ (who makes an awesome blend he calls Anniversary Cake, and also an extremely nice fella, his daughter still works at Scotty's store in Albany). Anyhow, pipesandcigars.com is no longer Scotty's but he still owns his Cigar B&M called Habana Premium you could check them out at Habana Happenings | Home of the #1 Cigar Shop for the Capital District


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